Grace Gabriel, IFAW’s Asia Regional Director and key player in the tiger
farming debate, said of the report’s findings, “Tigers play a vital role in our
ecosystem and are key to Asia’s wildlife heritage.

The sale of the 60 tonne stockpiles approved in 2002 at the 12th meeting of the
CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) was contingent upon certain conditions
being met, including the availability of baseline and comparative data from the
Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants system (MIKE).

At the 54th meeting of the SC in October 2006, delegates
and conservation organizations were caught off-guard by a last-minute decision
recommending Japan as a trading partner for the stockpiles.&nbsp;This decision
was made without the knowledge of a recent 2.8 tonne seizure of contraband ivory
in Osaka in August 2006, which the Japanese did not disclose until after the
meeting of the SC.&nbsp;

Final approval of Japan as a destination for the
stockpiles will be contingent upon the Secretariat’s own verification report to
be presented at SC55, which convenes Saturda

News of these fatal attacks on those charged with protecting endangered wildlife
is prescient given the upcoming 14th meeting of parties to the Convention on the
International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Overstretched and
under-resourced in efforts to protect their elephant populations, Kenya and Mali
have submitted a proposal for a 20-year moratorium on all international trade in
elephant ivory.&nbsp;Thus far, 11 African nations are backing the
20-year moratorium, including Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well
as additional countries.

This online manual, the first of its kind in Australia, was a collaborative
effort between AMRRIC (Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous
Communities) and IFAW (International Fund for Animal
Welfare).&nbsp;Senator Nigel Scullion, Minister for Community Services
will launch the manual at the 6th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Environmental Health Conference today in Cairns.&nbsp;Darwin-based vet
Dr Samantha Phelan, who wrote and researched the manual, said that effective dog
health programs have the capacity to make a significant differe

"Our rangers paid the ultimate prize - human life. But their deaths will not be
in vain. We remain vigilant and dedicated to our call - to stamp out poaching
and preserve Kenya's wildlife heritage," said Dickson Lesimirdana, Head of Anti-
Poaching Operations at KWS.&nbsp;Tsavo, Africa’s second largest park and
thought to have been the poachers’ destination, is recognized worldwide for its
important elephant populations.

Kenya and Mali have proposed a 20-year moratorium on ivory trade arguing that
one-off ivory sales in select countries opens up markets, both legal and
illegal, and lures poachers. “It would be suicidal to allow a new one-off sale
or annual quota of ivory, as proposed by Southern African countries, while
levels of illegal trade and poaching remain such serious threats to elephants
across Africa and Asia as they are now,” said Dzoro.

Legislation to close the loophole in the law was introduced by U.S.
Representatives Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.). Similar
legislation is expected to be introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator John
Kerry (D-Mass.).

“Polar bears are being threatened by humans on two fronts: sport hunting and
habitat loss due to global warming,” said Rep. Inslee, a member of the House
Natural Resources Committee and Select Committee on Energy Independence and
Global Warming.

The legislation, S. 1406, to close the loophole in the law was introduced by
U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Earlier this
week, U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) introduced
H.R. 2327, an identical bill in the House of Representatives.

“The polar bear has become a tragic symbol of our threatened environment, and
of the wildlife that pays the price for dangerous practices,” Sen. Kerry said.